The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 532 - 468 Ashamed of One’s Ugliness

Chapter 532: Chapter 468 Ashamed of One’s Ugliness
Leng Shaoqing played a card, speaking disinterestedly, "The lobby manager said today that Old Luo brought two female students out for a meal, and even ordered each of them an ice cream."
"Female students?" Zhuo Yanbei suddenly laughed with ill-intent, "So that’s the reason Luo brother went into teaching. I didn’t realize he and Second Brother have similar tastes in liking to rob the cradle."
"Old Luo’s students, they’re at least a decade younger than him, he doesn’t even let such budding flowers go," Leng Shaoqing said with a laugh, teasing Nan Zhan.
Nan Zhan coughed,
For so many years, her feelings for Luo Shangqing had always been completely unreserved. He was so smart; he certainly understood her thoughts. Moreover, both of them were not getting any younger. If they wanted to settle down, they should do it soon. However, Luo Shangqing was like a piece of cotton. No matter how she openly or covertly hinted at him, he remained indifferent. All her efforts were lightly repelled by him, and she found herself drifting further away from him, gradually beginning to not understand him anymore.
"Cough cough, brothers, Cheng Lin sister is still here," Zhuo Yanbei gently reminded.
Only then did Leng Shaoqing shut up, chuckling, "Cheng Lin, sorry about that. We’ve got a habit of talking nonsense when we get together. Don’t take it to heart."
"No worries," Cheng Lin smiled, "By the way, is what you guys said true? Does Shangqing really have that kind of relationship with his students?"
"Just guessing, haha." Leng Shaoqing played a card. "Old Luo is very secretive. He keeps everything to himself, so we just like to make wild guesses. Don’t mind us."
Cheng Lin forced a smile, "I don’t mind, I don’t mind."
～
On Sunday noon, Luo Meijuan packed a lunch box and prepared to leave, "Xixi, I’m going to bring lunch to your dad. You stay home and study well."
The moment Mu Chenxi heard this, she sprang up from the sofa, casually tossing her textbook which hit Kong Tai squarely on the head, eliciting a "meow" as it bounced off the sofa to the floor.
"Mom, let me go. My eyes are blurry from reading so much," Mu Chenxi couldn’t pass up such a good opportunity, especially on a weekend. Professor Luo would definitely be working at the hospital; she might even bump into him by chance.
"You child, suddenly becoming so diligent. In the past, when I asked you to bring lunch to your dad, you’d either pretend to have a stomachache or a leg ache," Luo Meijuan tapped her on the head, "Be careful riding your bike on the road."
"Got it." Mu Chenxi took the lunch box and ran off swiftly.
Arriving at the hospital, Mu Qihua wasn’t in his office. A nurse said he was in surgery and would be done in about an hour.
"Then I’ll take a walk somewhere else and come back later." After handing over the lunch box to a nurse in the department, Mu Chenxi slipped away.
Luo Shangqing’s office in neurology wasn’t on the same floor as Mu Qihua’s. After climbing to the third floor, Mu Chenxi loitered down the hallway, but after two rounds, she still hadn’t seen Luo Shangqing. So she ran up to the door of his office and peered in through the glass window.
"Looking for someone?" Suddenly, someone patted her on the shoulder, startling Mu Chenxi.
"Just passing by, passing by." Seeing that it was a nurse, Mu Chenxi hurriedly chuckled awkwardly to her.
The nurse, seeing her acting sneaky, couldn’t help but become suspicious, "Are you looking for Professor Luo?"
Before Mu Chenxi could reply, the nurse answered her own question, "Professor Luo was called away by his girlfriend, seems like they went to have a meal."
Upon hearing the words "girlfriend," Mu Chenxi stood frozen for a full half minute, blinking twice before regaining her thoughts, "Girlfriend?"
"Yes, just left, I saw them in the stairwell," the nurse said, sighing, "I used to sneak a look at Professor Luo just like you, but I stopped doing such foolish things after I found out he had a girlfriend."
"Then... what does his girlfriend do?"
"She’s also in medicine, just got back from the United States, edly a fellow disciple with Professor Luo. She’s beautiful and comes from a good family. When I see the two of them, the phrase ’a match made in heaven’ comes to mind," the nurse said, unable to hide her self-deprecating expression.
Mu Chenxi exited the hospital, needing a moment to adjust to the bright light outside. The winter sun was dry and intense, but it couldn’t bring warmth to her body.
Mu Chenxi’s "double zongzi" bike was parked by the roadside. She walked over and sat down beside it, listlessly kicking pebbles beneath her feet.
In truth, she should have realized long ago that a man as talented and handsome as Professor Luo was unlikely to be without a girlfriend, and she was just an ordinary pebble, raw and insignificant, hardly noticeable. Professor Luo would only take notice of her if he had presbyopia.
This unrequited love was doomed from the start, and even though she was still reluctant to give up on the process, every time she thought of the ending, she felt unbearably melancholic.
～
The day of the final exams arrived as scheduled, and early in the morning, the dormitory was as hectic as a battlefield. Xinyu was still cramming with her books, while Susu and Qi Hao were on the phone, scattering a handful of ’couple feed’ before the exam.
Chenxi had been up late studying the day before, and when she got up in the morning, her eyes were swollen. She was sitting on Quan Jin’s bed, letting her draw eyeliner.
"Fourth sister, you really should wear makeup more often, look how pretty you are with makeup on." Xinyu glanced at her from her books. Had she not said the next sentence, Chenxi might have actually felt pleased, but Xinyu had to add: "Like a dog in human clothes."
Chenxi was so agitated that Quan Jin’s eyebrow pencil went askew, drawing a line directly across her face, like a sudden whisker of a cat.
Quan Jin decided to add a few more strokes on her face, and after finishing, she laughed so hard she couldn’t straighten up.
Chenxi, still oblivious, touched her face and asked dumbly, "What’s so funny?"
Xinyu and Susu also saw her ’floral’ face, and Susu couldn’t help but laugh as she handed her the mirror: "Fourth sister, if you go to the exam looking like this, you’re guaranteed to pass every subject."
Chenxi took a look in the mirror only to discover her cat-whisker face. Her eyes widened as she went to settle the score with Quan Jin, and the two sisters chased and frolicked for a while, which seemed to disperse much of the pre-exam tension.
Before the exam, the school organized everyone to run on the sports field, which was the activity the four people in the dormitory liked least. After running three or four laps, they were all exhausted like dogs.
Chenxi was panting hard, and Quan Jin nudged her: "Your Professor Luo."
Chenxi followed the direction of her finger and saw Luo Shangqing standing at the edge of the sports field, wearing a black cashmere coat, with hands in his pockets, talking to a few teachers nearby.
Wherever Luo Shangqing was, it was always so dazzling; it was also always a gathering place for female creatures. Several female teachers from the department were converging towards him, intentionally or unintentionally, greeting him now and then.
Even at a great distance, Chenxi could still see the indifferent, distant smile on his lips. He was born into wealth and privilege, a demeanor inherent and unmatched by others.
Listening to a few teachers, Luo Shangqing suddenly looked straight over. There were thousands of students running on the sports field, but he managed to pick out the girl wrapped up like a ball instantly. Her cheeks were red and flushed like ripe apples in autumn, and as she ran, the ponytail at the back of her head swung back and forth, making him a bit dizzy.
Chenxi didn’t expect Luo Shangqing to suddenly look over. Although she knew he wasn’t looking at her, she couldn’t help but get excited. But this excitement made her step on the heel of the classmate in front of her, and she was about to fall face-first into the mud. In desperation, Chenxi grabbed the classmate’s pants, ending up pulling them down.
Laying on the ground, Chenxi stared at the black long johns revealed before her, hastily covering her face: "Classmate, I’m sorry, classmate, I’ll take responsibility."
Li Xiaoming hurriedly pulled up his pants, his face as red as if it were scorched by charcoal, and without paying any attention to the stunned crowd around, he ran off in a flash.
They say misfortune never comes alone; during the exam, Li Xiaoming was again sitting in front of her. Because of the exam system, all classes were mixed together. Although they weren’t in the same class, they were from the same department.
"Li Xiaoming, I’m really sorry about what happened this morning." Chenxi sincerely apologized.
Li Xiaoming graciously said, "I’m a boy, it’s not a big deal."
"After the exam, let me treat you in the No. 2 cafeteria, I haven’t thanked you for the notes last time."
Li Xiaoming blushed and said, "No need for you to spend money, let’s go dutch."
As they were talking, the death knell-like bell rang, and the previously bustling examination room quickly returned to silence.
The proctor walked in with the test papers, casting a glance at the students, "Hand in your textbooks."
So everyone promptly delivered their last-minute cramming textbooks to the podium.
The teacher distributed the test papers to the first row of students, asking them to pass them on from front to back. As Li Xiaoming handed the paper over to Chenxi, he suddenly lowered his voice: "The last big question..."
He only mentioned a formula, but as soon as Chenxi unfolded the paper, she immediately understood how to solve that question. She gratefully looked at Li Xiaoming’s back, never finding him so reliable before.
Soon, the examination room was left only with the rustling sound of answering questions and occasional coughs.
Luo Shangqing had no proctoring duties and was idly strolling through the corridor, and when he passed by the examination room where Chenxi was, he saw the girl through the glass, head down, earnestly writing her answers, biting her pen when encountering tough questions, then slapping her forehead with a look of sudden realization when she figured it out.
Watching her was like watching a silent film, which made him involuntarily raise the corners of his mouth.